Heart Keys
by Zhangsta
Summary: 1. She lives in a world where music isn't appreciated. No one would understand if she told them that her only dream was to become a famous pianist, therefore she keeps the secret deep inside, hoping that one day she'll have the courage to pursue it. Her hope slowly begins to fade, until she hears a resonating melody from the music room one day. NxM
1. one

Heart Keys  
I don't own Gakuen Alice, but I guess I wish I did.

* * *

_A fourteen year old Mikan stopped in her tracks as a soft melody filled a vacated room. Soothing sounds drifted from the music room, catching her attention._

_'I wonder who's playing,' she thought curiously, slowly changing her course of direction. Without noticing, she had approached the door to the music room, her heart racing. Peeking in discreetly, she spotted a raven haired boy, in a crisp white uniform._

_Somehow, she wasn't able to avert her eyes, as the gifted pianist's hands glided across the canvas of keys. Her heart pounded incessantly with each rise of a note, until the music abruptly stopped._

_Without a moment of hesitation she turned on her heels and ran, clutching her school books to her chest tightly. The startled brunette had just finished a make up Science exam, and was on her way out of the building and oddly- she had heard the sounds of the piano._

_The piano in the music room was scarcely used. It was beginning to collect dust due to being discarded, and to hear someone- or even see someone at the piano bench was a surprise._

_Especially someone that good._

_When her heart had finally stopped racing and she had reached a safe distance away, she decided that she had to find out who that boy was._

.

As the final afterschool announcements finished, Mikan jumped out of her seat, and gathered all of her books in a mere ten seconds. With an animated grin on her face, she ran towards Hotaru.

"Hotaru!" Mikan called excitedly, stacking Hotaru's books into a small pile. "Hurry, hurry, hurry up!"

Hotaru cringed at Mikan's obnoxious tone, and sighed warily. The things she put up with. With a tight smile, she quickened her pace, knowing how important today was for her idiotic best friend. Sometime between watching anime, and listening to drama OSTs, Mikan had become fixated with the idea of becoming a famous pianist, and began to compose her own piece. Now, two months later, she had finally perfected the song, and was ready to perform for Hotaru.

As the brunette's best friend, she couldn't help but let down her guard for once. She knew that Mikan had loved the piano ever since she was little, and had been afraid to pursue it, for music wasn't quite appreciated at their school. The details of what had urged Mikan to disregard the opinions of others was still a secret to Hotaru. But whoever had helped the idiot go for her dreams had her respect; not that they would ever know.

After a few persistent tugs, and Mikan getting hit with Hotaru's infamous baka gun, they arrived at the music room which was always open for two hours afterschool. Mikan swung open the large door, and instantly a flood of harmonic sounds filled her ears, while she took in the sight of many other students playing instruments.

Feeling a bit intimidated, Mikan meekly walked towards the piano, at a rate so slow that Hotaru had to resist the urge to shove her. But, finally, Mikan sat down at the piano, hesitating for a moment as her fingers positioned themselves. Slowly, a soft, lovely sound filled the whole room, and Mikan's insecurities slowly flourished as the room became increasingly quiet. Finally, a few bold students approached the piano to watch Mikan play, which only served to jolt the nerves of the pressured girl.

One student became two, and suddenly the majority of the crowd had surrounded Mikan, to witness her beautiful playing. Slowly feeling more and more confident, she averted her eyes from the piano, and suddenly hazel met crimson.

That crisp white uniform.  
That messy raven colored hair.  
Could... it be...?

Mikan immediately froze up, playing stiffly, while trying not to make it seem nonchalant. Her heart pounded loudly, as if it were about to burst from her chest. Hotaru glanced at Mikan's face and noticed it was as red as a tomato.

She hadn't seen him since that day afterschool in the music room.

"Your face is all flushed up," whispered Hotaru. "Don't you think Natsume will notice?"

Mikan shot the amethyst eyed girl a questioning glance. How had Hotaru known the name of her mysterious, piano boy?

Once the brunette had heard that, her heart began to throb uncontrollably fast, and her face began to flush up even more, if possible. Mikan glanced at Natsume at the corner of her eye, and widened her eyes at the slightest hint of emotion in the normally stoic boy's eyes. Knowing this, Mikan took a shaky breath and began to grow a bit more confident in her abilities and song. Although calm and indifferent on the outside, in Mikan's heart she was screaming with joy and excitement.

Remembering the end was approaching, Mikan broke into a crescendo, ending the piece with a flourish. For a few seconds, the room was quiet, until a small applause filled the room. People began to walk away, while some stayed to give her compliments. Mikan merely scratched her head and thanked everyone. A warm hand on Mikan's shoulder made her jump.

"You did a good job," Natsume noted, a small smirk on his face. He patted Mikan's shoulder. "Don't lose your passion for music, all right?"

Mikan found it difficult to keep a straight face, but nodded, a large grin tugging at her lips.

Finally, Natsume left the room, and when the pigtailed brunette decided everyone had moved onto better things, she pulled her best friend aside excitedly. With a deathly tight grip, Mikan hugged Hotaru, feeling tears of joy build up in her eyes.

"This is the happiest day ever," she said happily. "I can't wait for the next time!"

"Do you think Hyuuga will come by again?" Hotaru asked quietly, slowly prying herself from her hyperactive best friend.

"He better," Mikan replied seriously, a small smile forming on her lips.

.

"He's the son of the old headmaster at that prestigious academy down somewhere," Nonoko recited, typing a few words into a wordpad.

"Very descriptive," Hotaru noted, sighing inwardly. After the whole piano spectacle, Mikan was dying for information. In the past year, she kept her feelings on the down low, only observing the renowned Natsume Hyuuga from afar. She rarely saw him, for their classes were in different sections of the school, but occasionally she'd hear that familiar song on the piano, which would trail off at the end, never sounding quite complete.

"Why is he here then?" Mikan asked, her brows furrowed in concentration. "And what do you mean by old headmaster?"

"I don't have much information about him honestly," Nonoko admitted, a frown on her face. She moved her hand to scroll down the page. "All that's disclosed in this file, is that his parents are deceased. He lives with his aunt, and his younger sister Aoi, who he is really protective of for unknown reasons. She plays the piano too, but both of them quit sometime last ye-"

"What?" Mikan interrupted. "But I heard him play last year," she said absently, pursing her lips in confusion.

"Natsume was the reason she quit," the blue haired hacker added. "He suddenly grew really cold after his parents death."

"That's to be expected," Hotaru nodded.

Mikan sighed unexpectedly. "So, he doesn't play the piano anymore?"

"That's what it says in the file."

_And nothing seemed to make sense at this moment._

* * *

Hello, to who ever may be reading this! C: This is my first story, so please be easy on me. I think I need to improve, so please give me some advice if you have any! (: I'm always looking for ways to improve!

-Celi


	2. two

Heart Keys  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. xD

* * *

After another half hour of talking, Mikan excused herself, needing time alone with her thoughts. As the sun began to set at Alice Academy, Mikan sat at the piano in the music room alone, thinking about Natsume and the events that had conspired a mere three hours ago.

_'Could it be that I like him?'_ she wondered, her heartbeat speeding up._ 'Or do I just admire his piano skills?'_

Every time she looked at him, it was odd- but it just felt like somehow he knew; what was even more odd was the fact that he actually looked back. His dark crimson eyes pierced into her soul when their eyes met, and without fail, everytime she fell victim to those alluring irises. Her heart lept, remembering his cool hand on his shoulder earlier today.

No one could deny that Natsume was a looker with his jet black hair, that looked so soft and smooth and healthy physique. Whispers in the hall stated that he was the 'perfect guy' every girl wanted to be with, his only flaw being this harsh personality. Even though Mikan didn't talk to him much, she felt like he was harsher on her than everyone else.

Mikan grazed the piano keys with her hands and placed them back on her lap. She sighed in exasperation, confusion bottling up in her mind.

_'Why is it that merely interacting with him just once, has my heart racing? Natsume's a cold and harsh person, yet there's just something about him that draws me to him.'_

With her mind puzzled, full of questions, she decided it was time to go home. The custodians were sure to be taking their leave soon, and Mikan didn't want to get locked inside the building. Standing up awkwardly, she collected her scattered piano sheets clumsily, and slowly dawdled to the door.

As Mikan reached for the doorknob, a forceful impact threw her back instead. Mikan's eyes widened, her arms shaking slightly, as she looked up to see a tall, masculine figure. She trembled, only noticing now that she was only propped up by her quivering arms. A ray of sun entered the otherwise dark room, blinding Mikan's field of vision, making it too bright to see who it was. Mikan finally gained the consciousness to slowly, stand up, as the door creaked to a close. Mikan closed her eyes tightly praying that the person wasn't some murderer or something of the sort. The next thing she knew, her piano sheets went flying everywhere and a familiar hand was covering her mouth. A muffled scream escaped from Mikan's lips, as she began to struggle trying to set herself free.

"Shhh! be quiet! Do you want to get hurt?" a boy's voice whispered.

Mikan recognized that voice, it was someone she knew, but who was it? She struggled free at last, her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of her attacker. It was none other than the infamous Natsume Hyuuga. Mikan gazed at him; his eyes unfaltering in intensity as he stared back.

"Get down idiot! They're going to see us!" Natsume called with a rushed tone.

Natsume grabbed Mikan's arm and pulled her down forcefully behind the piano, tucking her close to him. Mikan blushed lightly, stealing a quick glance at him.

_'What is he doing here? Is he hiding from someone? Is this a game?'_ she wondered.

Mikan's mind filled up with even more questions waiting to be answered.

"W…what's going on Natsume?" Mikan asked worriedly. "Are you hiding from someone?"

Before he could answer her, a click from outside the doors sounded, signalling the locking of the room. Natsume then gave out a sigh and relaxed onto the stacked chairs. He looked at Mikan's confused face, and couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, now that we're safe from them-"

"From who?!" interrupted Mikan."You just barged into this room, and like _attacked _me! Who do you-"

Natsume put his finger on Mikan's lips, putting his husky voice to good use. "Shhhhh," he whispered. "It's all right now. I was hiding from girls chasing after me. They're all such a hassle."

Mikan stared into Natsume's daring red eyes as Natsume was still smirking. She pushed away Natsume's hand and moved away from him, in a mix of disbelief and shock.

Mikan's face was still flushed up, up to the point where Natsume would notice if they maintained eye contact. The black haired boy and the brunette sat away from each other, one staring into space, the other deep in though. Finally, just when Mikan had began to calm down, Natsume broke the solemn silence.

"I knocked over your music sheets," he stated plainly, standing up. "I'll pick them up."

"No no, I can pick them up myself," Mikan said, her voice sounding strained, albeit her efforts to sound natural like any other person would.

_'Is it just me or is Natsume being really nice? Plus I think he's blushing a bit... or maybe I'm seeing things. Does he like me? No, no, no why would he like someone like me?_' Mikan thought to herself, her brain working itself overtime.

As Mikan bent down to pick up her sheets, Natsume sighed annoyedly, and reluctantly helped.

"What are you doing? I can do this myself!" exclaimed Mikan trying to shove Natsume away from her.

"I did knock them out of your hands. Why are you being so stubborn?" Natsume inquired, brushing off Mikan's hand. He picked up a loose sheet scattered a bit further away from the other pieces. He studied it for a minute, before speaking. "Are you writing another song?"

"Yeah, what about it?" questioned Mikan, blushing furiously as she messily sorted out her disarray sheet music.

_'Come on Mikan, stop blushing now. Natural,'_ she encouraged herself.

"Play it for me," Natsume stated, using an authorative tone. Mikan gazed at him, as hazel and crimson met, she deliberated.

As Mikan remained quiet, still staring at Natsume, he flicked her forehead.

"Don't go staring off into space when I'm talking to you," he teased, a small smirk on his face. Natsume broke their staring contest, and took the opportunity to pick up the rest of the sheets. Compiling them neatly, he handed them to her. "Are you going to play or not?"

Mikan stared down at her sheets, and looked back at Natsume with uncertain eyes.

"I haven't finished writing it, but I can play you what I've got down," Mikan suggested hesitantly. An odd rush filled her, as she hoped Natsume would still want to hear it.

"Sure, whatever," Natsume said sighing. "We're locked in here until morning, so we might as well play it and finish writing it here."

_'We?_' Mikan wondered absentmindedly. But her mind's attention was quickly averted by the fact that she and Natsume were both locked in the music room for the night.

"B-but, I have to get home a-and... all night?" she whimpered nervously. She was supposed to stay with this- this intriguing, mysterious pretty-much-stranger who she maybe-sort of has feelings for? Mikan braced herself not to worry, telling herself that she was better off worrying about less trivial matters.

_'I-it's not like I like him or anything,'_ she told herself.

After Natsume settled on a plush chair, and Mikan perched herself on the edge of the piano bench, she turned to Natsume with a hard serious face.

"Don't scoff at me if you don't like it! Just stop me when you get bored okay?" Mikan told him, preparing herself, as she knew his reputation for getting easily bored.

Natsume sitting on the ground chuckled. "You're stalling."

Mikan glared at him, her warm feelings dying by the minute.

_'At least he's back to his regular, cold self.'_

Mikan then turned away and sat down at the piano adjusting herself. Slowly, she ran her fingers over the keys, positioning them. Mikan took a deep breath and shut off her mind, letting her heart take over. Having memorized her piece, she shut her eyes, and lost herself to the world of harmony. Her passion for music was indescribable, and with every piece she wrote or played, she put all her emotions, and effort into. As Mikan slowly got to the climax, she stopped. The music room that was just peaceful and happy had turned back into a plain, quiet boring room again.

"Is that all?" Natsume inquired, a thoughtful expression on his face. Mikan nodded.

"Not bad, I guess," Natsume smirked, standing up to brush some dust from his pants.

"Thanks," Mikan muttered, wondering if that was even a compliment. She touched the palm of her hand to her cheek, and realized that her face was slowly turning the color of Natsume's eyes once again. She cursed her weakness.

'I don't want to feel this way about him.'

Surprisingly, Natsume turned to the piano and sat down on the bench pushing her over slightly. "Do you want help to finish the rest? I do play piano, so I can help you, that is... if you want."

Mikan smiled, a warm feeling in her heart setting in her heart at Natsume's words.

"Of course you can help," murmured Mikan. "S-so, let's start here then," she said, pointing towards a line with unfinished notes.

After figuring out what kind of melody they wanted, Natsume plopped onto the piano bench close to Mikan. Mikan stiffened, as Natsume wrapped his arm around her to help her write the notes.

The smells of Natsume's clothes were so fresh. His smell lingered to Mikan, heightening her flustered self. As he reached over even farther, his hair brushed over Mikan's face.

"Hey, are you paying attention?" Natsume tugged one of Mikan's pigtails gently. "You're supposed to do most of the work here; it's your piece."

"Sorry! I kind of dozed off... thinking..." muttered Mikan.

"Thinking about what?" Natsume asked, a small smirk on his face.

Never before have they been this close, and that sole reason was enough to make her heart flutter. Mikan gazed into Natsume's eyes as he did the same. The red in Natsume's eyes were deep with mystery, unable to be read. The closer Mikan looked the harder it was to pull away. She wanted to be closer to him... _Closer and closer _until somehow the gap between them had narrowed down, until their foreheads were touching.

Natsume didn't take his eyes off Mikan for a second, he, the one Mikan thought was harsh and cold towards others was like an angel; albeit an angel with an icy exterior. He did seem like he'd be the perfect, handsome, cute boy everyone loved deep down, only this was hidden by the facade he showed the world. This thought compelled Mikan to want to get to know him, as he drew her closer- if that was even possible.

Gently he put his hand on her cheek.

_'His hand, it's warm.'_

Mikan slowly shut her eyes and let Natsume guide her, getting lost in this world.

Natsume smiled, and kissed her softly. As their lips touched, Natsume's feel was like a drug to Mikan. The moment was full of emotions; soft, lingering, but something was missing... After Natsume let go of Mikan, she opened her eyes, wondering what the missing piece could have been. Lack of passion?

"One more," Mikan whispered, holding onto Natsume's shoulders."I need to-" She couldn't finish, as he had already captured her lips with his own.

Mikan felt like she had lost her mind as Natsume's lips touched hers again, and held on this time. This time, Natsume pulled Mikan to him, and hugged her tight as they let go. As Mikan hugged Natsume with all her might, Natsume quietly whispered into her ear. When Mikan heard, she lit a smile on her face and relaxed in Natsume's warm arms. Everything seemed so perfect.

After the sun had completely set behind the mountains, they broke apart dazed.

"So, now that we have that settled," Natsume started nonchalantly. "You're going to be my girlfriend."

Mikan froze, unconsciously moving away by an inch. "W-what?"

Natsume pushed away Mikan's bangs gently. "You're not that bad," he muttered. "I have fangirls, you obviously like me. Why not put this... friendship, mutual understanding or whatever into good use? You play piano- and you're not half bad, and..." he trailed off awkwardly.

Mikan's jaw dropped slightly. This was the first time she had heard the crimson eyed boy speak so much, but-

"So, that kiss," she started. "I mean... so this 'relationship', it'll be fake?"

"You could say that."

Too shocked to speak, Mikan shook her head, slowly covering the piano with the protective sheet. A small yawn escaped from her lips, and grudgingly she trudged her way over to a large bean bag chair on the ground.

"I'm tired," she mumbled quietly. "I'm gonna call it a night."

"Night girlfriend," Natsume teased, following suit.

.

When morning came, the sun rose into the sky shining into the music room. Natsume rubbed his eyes and looked out the windows. By the looks of it school hadn't started yet, and the door was still securely locked. Natsume looked at Mikan, lying in his lap, still off in another world.

"Don't leave me," she whispered in her sleep, grabbing onto Natsume's uniform, "Please don't leave me."

Natsume blushed, taken aback by her words.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you." whispered Natsume gently, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. With a quick, fleeting look around, Natsume pulled out his cellphone which he had with him the whole time. If he wanted to get out of the music room, he could have called anyone at anytime, but he decided that he really didn't want to.

Mikan yawned, and rubbed her eyes. As she opened them she could see Natsume staring at her with a grin formed on his face. Mikan's eyes widened, as she sat up abruptly.

"You didn't do anything to me did you?" asked Mikan in a scared voice.

Natsume relaxed and laughed.

"You want to know what I did?" asked Natsume, as he crawled over to Mikan. "I did this."

He took grasp of Mikan's arm and kissed her on the lips. Everything that happened last night, then all popped into Mikan's head. As Natsume let go, he whispered something into Mikan's ear.

_None of this was real. It was all just a game; a fake._

That thought allowed Mikan to keep an emotionless facade on until they were finally able to leave the music room.

Later when the school had finally opened up, Natsume, and Mikan snuck out and split up to avoid suspicion. As Mikan ran to Hotaru, she held onto her hands tightly and told her every single detail.

Mikan had expected Hotaru to be surprised, but the latter stood there indifferently. Mikan sighed; however she hadn't told Hotaru what Natsume whispered in her ear.

"From today on, I'm Natsume's girlfriend," she said quietly, testing out the words.

_But it just felt wrong; horribly wrong._

* * *

Thanks for reading!  
Leave a review maybe? :D

-Celine


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